Leviticus Chapter 8 The Consecration of The Priests

In Leviticus Chapters 8-10, we read of the beginning of the priesthood.

• Chapter 8 – and his sons are consecrated. • Chapter 9 – Aaron begins his duties as High Priest. • Chapter 10 – Two of Aaron’s sons offer profane fire.

[Picture from www.prophecysigns.com.]

The offering of an animal as a blood sacrifice to God was established as an appropriate way to worship God as soon as man sinned and was forced out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 4:3-4). This function was preformed by the family patriarch in the case of (Genesis 8:20-21), (Genesis 12:7), Job (Job 1:5), and Moses’ father-in-law (Exodus 18:12).

All that was about to change. From this time (in Leviticus 8) until the death of Christ and the beginning of the church age, people would have to come to God through the Priesthood of Aaron. Today we are believer-priests (Revelation 1:6), and in the future Millennial Kingdom, the people will offer sacrifices through the Levitical family of (Ezekiel 44:15). So chronologically, it looks like this:

Priesthood of the Priesthood of Priesthood of Priesthood of Patriarch Aaron the Believer Zadok

| Patriarchs | Israel | Church | Kingdom

Creation 1500BC 33AD 2000+AD 3000+AD

Leviticus 8:1-5 Moses Assembles the Congregation of Israel The command to anoint Aaron and his sons as the priests had been given earlier (in Exodus 28-29). But now that the Tabernacle was completed and the five basic sacrifices were described, it was time to carry out the actual consecration of Aaron and his sons. So: When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded to do.”

Leviticus 8:6-9 Aaron and His Sons Are Washed and Dressed The process included the following steps. Moses: 1. Washed them with water 2. Put the tunic on him 3. Girded him with the sash 4. Clothed him with the robe 5. Put the on him 6. Girded him with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him 1 7. Placed the breastpiece on him 8. In the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim 9. Placed the turban on his head 10. On the turban, at its front [Moses] placed the golden plate, the holy crown

…just as the LORD had commanded Moses. [Pictures from www.crystalinks.com.]

Leviticus 8:10-13 Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. He sprinkled some of it on the seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. Next Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with sashes and bound caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. [The picture is of a Levitical Purification Vessel discovered at Mishkhan (Wilderness Tabernacle) which some suggest is the actual vessel used by Moses. It is probably not the exact vessel Moses used but very much like that – see [email protected].]

The anointing of the Tabernacle was first given in Exodus 30:22-33. Ryrie reports: This highly perfumed oil was to be used exclusively for the prescribed consecrations of the Tabernacle and its furnishing and of the priests. About 50 lbs. (23 kg) of spices, dried and powdered were mixed with about one gallon (4.5 lit) of olive oil (“Ryrie Study Bible,” p. 140).

Leviticus 8:14-17 The of the Priests for Themselves This paragraph describes the sin offering again. But this time, when Moses brought a bull and sacrifices, it was an atonement for Aaron and his sons.

Leviticus 8:18-21 The First Ram As a of the Priests for Themselves This paragraph repeats the procedure but offers a ram as a burnt offering. The text says it is for Aaron and his sons as a burnt offering for a soothing aroma … to the LORD.

Leviticus 8:22-29 The Second Ram As a Burnt Offering of the Priests for Themselves In this ceremony, the procedure changed in that for both Aaron and his sons Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. Also, some unleavened bread was mixed with the fat of the ram and presented in smoke on the altar.

Another element of this ceremony is called the . This is mentioned with several of the sacrifices. It is not a separate offering but a procedure by which the worshiper would apparently wave it back and forth in the air before God. Here, Moses put some unleavened bread with oil on top of the fat and thigh of the ram and handed all that to Aaron and his sons. They then waved it before

2 the LORD and gave it back to Moses who burned it on the altar. Moses also waved the breast of the ram before the LORD, then he burned it on the altar.

Leviticus 8:30-36 The first six the paragraphs in chapter 8 end with the phrase just as the LORD had commanded Moses. This last paragraph ends with the statement: Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD had commanded through Moses.

In this last paragraph, Moses sprinkled some anointing oil and some blood from the altar on the garments of Aaron and his sons (8:30). Then Moses tells Aaron and his sons to boil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of meeting, then to eat some of it and burn the rest. But he also told them to live there inside the doorway, day and night, for seven days.

THOUGHTS AND APPLICATIONS • As we read through these instructions, we should see ourselves in the place of Aaron and his sons, not in the place of Moses. Moses would be like the Bible is for us – the source of God’s revelation. We are, of course, like the general population of Israel in the sense that we all need to have a sacrifice offering acceptable to God. But we are not like the general population of Israel in that they needed a priest to represent them to God. We are believer priests, so we need to identify with the bloody job of Aaron and his sons who first sacrificed for their own sin, and then helped others. For us, that means coming to God through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and then helping other come to God the same way. • We cannot know the significance of each of the stages of the consecration ceremony for the priests or each piece of clothing they wore. The overall effect, however, was to set the priests apart from the people. They were to be obviously different from everyone else in that they were set apart to God according to the commands of God. The same is true for us, except we are to be set apart morally and spiritually. It should be clear to the world that we are believer priests set apart for God, not by our dress or ceremony but by the fact that we live according the commandments of God for today. • The main application point of the chapter is the last sentence: Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD had commanded through Moses. The assignment for us as believers is exactly the same. We live in a different age. We live after the Messiah has come and offered Himself as the only sufficient sacrifice. We live in the Age of Grace when the Mosaic Law is fulfilled. We have the New Testament revealed by Christ and the apostles. But our assignment is the same, to do all the things which the LORD had commanded.

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